Galatians

Study
37: Gal.5:16-18

Walking in the Spirit

This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not
fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the
Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary
the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye
would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

Gal.5:16-18

1. This I say Then

We now have a conclusion that leads us into the consequences of
walking either in the flesh or the Spirit. So far in this epistle we have
seen, amongst other things, that salvation, and living the Christian
life is of the Spirit, and not by any effort of the flesh. The Law
was only a temporary addition to the promise made to Abraham until
Christ should come; and that as born again believers we are of
Jerusalem above, and not the Jerusalem below. To go back
to
the law and its works, in whatever form, is to be once more enslaved
in a yoke of bondage.

Throughout the epistle we have seen that we are
either of law (whether it be the Mosaic one, or one made up by men or
self) or we are of the Spirit; we cannot be of both, it is one or the
other. If we want to live under a legal system then we are obliged to
be slaves of that system and to keep every aspect of it. But on the other
hand knowing that we are freed from the Law, we are not to allow that
liberty to be used for the flesh, but rather in order to serve and
love one another.

2. The lust of the flesh

The word lust in modern speech has certain overtones,
which obscures the Bible use of the word. The word in scripture is
used to mean a strong desire, and that could be good or bad. Here are a
few scriptures that illustrate this.

2.1 Good lust/desire

Mtt.13:17;
Lk.16:21;17:22; 2:15; Phil.1:23; Heb.6:11; I Pet.1:12

2.2 Bad lust/desire

Mtt.5:28; Jn.8:44; Acts 20:33;
Rom.1:24; I Cor. 10:6; I Pet.1:14

Paul talks
about the
lust of the flesh, that is the strong desires of the flesh, as being
opposite to walking in the Spirit. If we are
led by our fleshly desires then we are
living contrary to God's design for us, for we
would be allowing something other than
God to be our guiding
factor. As a result we are then slaves to the body. Instead, it is God's purpose for us
to be led by the Spirit, and to make our bodies our servants and not our
master.

But every man is tempted,
when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when
lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is
finished, bringeth forth death.

Jms.1:14-15

In this passage James gives us the downward steps when
yielding to temptation. Its origin is in the lust of the
flesh. The words drawn & enticed
here give the idea of luring game from its place of safety in order
to trap it. Trying not to extend the metaphor beyond its meaning, we
can say that when hunters trap animals they use their natural instinct
for food for their own destruction.
Likewise when we are tempted, it is along the line of our
natural desires, to the point where it becomes an over desire,
and often drowning out any thought of the
consequences.

When we have given in to the
temptation a conception takes place; this happens the
moment we accept the thought of the temptation (in whatever
form it takes). We may dwell on it, we may
lay plans to do something, or we may immediately act on it.
But the moment we do so the lust conceives, we are thus
caught by the temptation (which is one meanings of the
underlying Greek word for conceive). Consequently the act of
sin then follows, and then that result is death.

Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this
world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit
that now worketh in the children of disobedience: among whom also we
all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh,
fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by
nature the children of wrath, even as others.

Eph.2:2-31

Whereby are given unto us
exceeding great and precious
promises: that by these ye might
be partakers of the divine
nature, having escaped the
corruption that is in the world
through lust.

II Pet.1:4

For all that is in the world,
the lust of the flesh, and the
lust of the eyes, and the pride
of life, is not of the Father,
but is of the world.

I Jn. 2:16

Fulfilling the lusts
of the flesh means to live
independently of God, and that is the basis of all sin. It is what caused
Lucifer to fall in the first place: he gave way to his desires and tried to set up his
own throne, Isa.14:12-15; Adam
and Eve did the same sort of thing in the garden of Eden. We all are born with that
same disposition, and the whole world's system is based on that
lust, as the above scriptures reveal. No wonder Paul says the lust of
the flesh is contrary to the ways of the Spirit.

For they that are after the
flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the
Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is
death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the
carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law
of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh
cannot please God.

3. Walking in the Spirit

Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not
fulfil the lust of the flesh.

We must be careful as
to how we read this scripture. It DOES NOT say: if you don't
fulfil the lusts of the flesh you are automatically walking in the Spirit! There are many who
deny self, those who try to hold down the desires of the flesh, not
just in so called Christendom but in many religions, yet they are not in
the Spirit! Indeed to start by denying the flesh before we are
walking in the
Spirit is itself a work of the flesh! Further, such teaching and practice
leads to asceticism and mysticism, something the Colossian letter warns
about.

The scripture simply reads that if we walk in the Spirit
then we do not fulfil the lusts of the flesh. It is a
simple statement of fact. We have already seen in
this chapter that to walk in the Spirit is to actually
fulfil the whole law. It is not by efforts of self, but
rather by the life that God has planted in us - His
own nature.

That the righteousness of the
law might be fulfilled in us, who
walk not after the flesh, but after
the Spirit. For they that are
after the flesh do mind the things
of the flesh; but they that are
after the Spirit the things of the
Spirit. For to be carnally
minded is death; but to be
spiritually minded is life and
peace. Because the carnal mind
is enmity against God: for it is not
subject to the law of God, neither
indeed can be. So then they
that are in the flesh cannot please
God. But ye are not in the
flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be
that the Spirit of God dwell in you.
Now if any man have not the Spirit
of Christ, he is none of his.

Rom.8:4-9

If we have the Spirit of God then we are not in
the flesh but in the Spirit, that is we have
been renewed in our hearts and raised into
the heavenlies with Christ. So we have no
excuse to live according to the lusts of the
flesh. The example par excellence is of course the
Lord Jesus, and it is worth our time examining
His example.

We mentioned previously the Fall of Lucifer and
of the first humans. These falls we note were in ideal circumstances:
Lucifer in heaven, being the anointed Cherub; Adam and Eve in a
paradise garden. Yet these beings, one heavenly the others human, gave
in to their lusts when tempted and fell from their estates, thus
declaring their independence from God.

In contrast we have
Jesus, God incarnate. Fully God and fully man. He too had no sin and
was tempted, just as Lucifer, Adam and Eve were at their beginnings,
but that is where the similarity ends. When Jesus was tempted it was
not in ideal conditions, but was in a
wilderness and had fasted for forty days. Not exactly the most
conducive of situations to resist the desires of the flesh! But that
is what He did.

Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the
wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had
fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If
thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made
bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall
not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out
of the mouth of God. Then the devil taketh him up into
the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself
down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge
concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up,
lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt
the Lord thy God. Again, the devil taketh him up into an
exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of
the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All
these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and
worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence,
Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God,
and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth
him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

Mtt.4:1-11

Firstly, note that Jesus was led of the Spirit to the wilderness,
Luke's account has this extra piece of
information: Jesus [being] full of the Holy
Ghost..... Lk.4:1 The
emphasis is of being full and led by
the Spirit. Jesus didn't do anything from
His own will, He laid down His own desires
and only followed His Father's will, eg.
Jn. 4:34;5:30;6:38; 8:28; 14:10 and the famous Mtt.26:39. The
secret was being full of the Holy Spirit and
not following the lusts of the flesh, this is exactly what Paul in Ephesians exhorts us to
do. Eph.5:18.

Secondly, Jesus' reply to the devil. Now eating after a period of
fasting is not in itself wrong, but here we note that the enemy wanted
Jesus to gratify the flesh by showing off His glory and power, by
questioning God's word that was declared at Jesus' baptism
Mtt.3:17. This is exactly
where Eve went wrong, she listened to the devil's doubting of God's
word to her. But Jesus, under the most severe conditions, great hunger
and a wilderness to live in, He said that it was God's word we should
live by. To give in to the devil would have meant that Jesus would
have proved that He was the Son of God by listening to the enemy
and not by simply accepting His Father's testimony.

What a
greater example can we have than that of the Lord Jesus? Never moving
on the desires of the flesh, but being led and thus walking in the
Spirit. We can now see why Paul declares that the lusts of the flesh
are contrary to the Spirit, one is dependence on God the other
independence from God. One is setting self up as the source of living,
the other complete reliance on God.

In the context of our
thoughts in Galatians we can see the folly of trying to live the
Christian life by works of the flesh. By making rules and regulations
to live by it is as if one is trying to prove that one is a child of
God: "if thou be a child of God then live like this..." It's
bad enough making it a standard to live by oneself, but to
impose it on others makes it worse. No we are to live by the Spirit,
and by so doing we will not fulfil the lusts of the flesh, not even
laying down rules to make us deny the flesh!

If we are God's
children and are filled with the Spirit, we have nothing to prove to
anyone. We are His and His word is sufficient; we just have to live
and walk in the Spirit with a clear conscience before God, and no
external rules or regulations will be necessary whether
imposed by self or others. We are not under law!